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This hand-painted dress was a gift to the Museum from the Chicago boutique, Ultimo Ltd. Joan Weinstein, the owner of Ultimo, helped garner international acclaim for the Oak Street shopping district in the last quarter of the twentieth century. In 1988, the Los Angeles Times reported, "Ultimo is about as close as Chicago gets to haute couture, and owner Joan Weinstein-known well beyond the borders of the Windy City as a barometer of contemporary fashion-is almost as famous as her clientele."

Curatorial Statement

This striking ensemble is an excellent example of Yohji Yamamoto's refined, avant-garde aesthetic. Yamamoto rocked the fashion establishment by rebelling against the over-the-top, highly theatrical European fashions popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Instead, he produced sophisticated clothes, combining references to Japanese culture with the stark minimalism for which he is best known.